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WHAT IS THE WWE VIP EXPERIENCE, SHOULD WWE HIRE MATT MORGAN, THE MEDIATOR AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2013-08-29 10:00:00
I've been seeing that all the WWE live events are sponsored by a VIP Experience. What is it and is it worth the money?

The WWE VIP Experience is something that WWE lifted from a lot of touring concerts, where you pay a premium price and get a number of special extras in addition to your ticket to the event. The prices depend on the market they are running, but here is how things break down:

Their Superstar VIP Package gets you a ringside ticket to a show, a meet and greet with a WWE talent (you don't know who in advance), a photo with the WWE title, a limited edition take home chair, a WWE cap, a limited edition poster, a laminate to hold your ticket in, parking for the venue, a "crowd free" merchandise shopping area and a concierge at your seats, likely to take food orders, etc. That is obviously the more expensive option.

Their Enhanced VIP Package gets you a lower level ticket to a show (in the first raised section of the venue, most likely), a WWE cap, a limited edition poster, a laminate to hold your ticket in, parking for the venue, a "crowd free" merchandise shopping area and a concierge at your seats, likely to take food orders, etc.

As far as whether it is worth it, I've only heard positives from readers who have done the experience, since get to meet a talent for a few minutes and most have felt it added to the overall house show they attended. I think that if you are the type of fan that wants to splurge and get something really special, you might enjoy it, but remember that you are paying a pretty penny for it.

I remember when Mr. Wrestling II was feuding with Magnum TA, he brought a second Mr. Wrestling into Mid-South. Who was that?

It was the late Ray Fernandez, best known nationally as Hercules Hernandez.

There seems to be a lot of talk about Matt Morgan possibly going to WWE. Do you think they should hire him and if so, how would you use him?

I actually think they should. He was there once before but it was a different regime and a different landscape and I don't think the majority of the average fan out there even remembers his run with the stuttering gimmick, which was stupid and should be forgotten.

There's obviously money to be made with Morgan. He's always been a guy with an awesome look and with a really good ability to verbalize, but for whatever reason, has never found that missing piece to really break through as a top-tier guy in TNA. He had some real flashes of greatness as a heel monster but TNA never completely got behind him.

In my mind, Morgan is an incredibly athletic guy for his size and would be pretty unique on the roster. There are guys as large or larger than him, but not with his ability as an athlete. WWE could easily show his strengths and guide him into what they want.

If I was booking him, I'd have him debut as Paul Heyman's bodyguard to be the next obstacle in CM Punk's path just as Punk is about to obliterate Heyman. Punk could get some good matches out of him fighting from underneath as David to his Goliath. Morgan could benefit from working with Punk and Paul Heyman, You can even give him an entirely new persona - he doesn't have to be Matt Morgan, although it would certainly make sense.

I seem to remember watching a wrestling show when I was a kid on cable where one of the hosts was an evil referee named The Mediator. I can't seem to find anything about him. There was a British announcer with him. Am I losing my mind?

No, you are not. The Mediator was a character in the old Savoldi family promotion ICW (later known as IWCCW) in the 1980s. He was played by Tom Fernini, who was a referee and worked shots for the WWF and the AWA at times, although never on a full-time basis. I was told once he was related to the Savoldi family, but can't be 100% sure on that. The British announcer you are thinking of was Brian Bristol. I don't have any background information on him at all. You were likely watching the show on the now-defunct Financial News Network, which for some reason, ran a LOT of pro wrestling late at night in the late 1980s.

I remember they had a Triple Threat main event scheduled, The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Stone Cold at Survivor Series 1999. We know Austin took a leave of absence to get his neck fixed, but was the plan always to do a bait-and-switch that night with Big Show? Or did Austin get hurt again, and couldn't risk working that night, so they did a last minute replacement?

They purposely did the bait and switch as a way to make sure fans ordered the show, since Austin was their biggest draw during that time period. It was a lame thing to do to the paying audience, but they needed a way to write Austin out of their storylines.

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